Friday 27 November 2020

Just updated a page in the member's section

If either of the members fancy entering a writing competition, just log in and take a peek at the competition page!

 

I'm not gonna publicise it publically on the site or this blog 'cos the members deserve exclusive's and this is one of 'em!  

 

If you've been pondering on joining up or are thinking of getting a supportive gift for a children's author that you know, just head on over to read the terms and conditions, then go to this page and fill in the form!


Good luck if you decide to enter!


Tuesday 24 November 2020

Just got my winner's certificate from NaNo

Just a really quick post before I head to bed... I've just put my NaNo winner's certificate up on the front page of the Stories 4 Children site if you wanna go and take a peek at it?


Time for me to shut down and head to bed now... nitey-nite-nite all!


Monday 23 November 2020

Blog tour: "Pandemonium" by Gail Aldwin

Well this is a first for me!  I've never taken part in a blog tour before, and especially not as the opening act❗

 

The author of "Pandemonium", Gail Aldwin, asked me if I wanted to be involved in the blog tour for her new book that's published on 1st December 2020 by Victorina Press.


I always love having a face to put to a name online so the author has kindly sent me this photo of her to share with you all:


And this is what the incredible illustrator looks like:

This is the adorable cover of the book:


And if you wanna see what the others in the blog tour have said about the book, all the info is in this poster:

If you don't wanna know what my opinion of the book is before you read it, don't read any further, but if you wanna know what my review says, just keep reading below the divider!

Sunday 15 November 2020

It's taken me 2.5 days, but...

...I've just put the final full stop in my chapter book that was a WIP until about 10 minutes ago, which means I've written 57,500 words so far in November and we're only half way through it.

 

I'd love to write at least another couple of chapter books before the end of November 'cos I've only got 3 others written, so wanna get them up to at least double figures before the end of the year so that I can devote my attention to writing Mitzi's biography in January.  I doubt I'll send that one off to publishers... it'll just be for those of us who knew her so I'll prolly go with the print on demand for that one and barely mention it to agents and publishers unless they ask for more details about other manuscripts I've had published.


Tuesday 10 November 2020

Aand the first draft of my NaNo 2020 novel is...

...finished❗

 

It's been more upsetting and emotional than any of the previous years, but it's done and dusted now.

 

I've already celebrated with two J2O's and I'm gonna have my first solid lunch for 5 days when Steve gets back home.  

 

I'm gonna be in pieces for the rest of the day now 'cos I'll be letting my grief for Mitzi come out without hiding it.  I'm gonna write her biography for JanNo that I won't even attempt to get published, it'll just be for me and those I want to share it with to help to cope with my grief over losing her.  I'm determined to have a dedication to her at the start of this book if/when it's published though, 'cos she passed away when I was literally within a sentence of half way through writing it and I wanna do that to honour her life with us.


This one's for you, Mitzi❗


Sunday 8 November 2020

Another 5k written today, which means...

...just 10k more to write in a maximum of 22 days and that's NaNo finished for another year.  I'm hoping I'll get it finished on the 10th though, so keep yer fingers crossed 🤞 for me and I'll definitely want this one dedicated to Mitzi.


Saturday 7 November 2020

Back on track to finish on the 10th

I'm glad I managed to do at least 6k a day for the first four days and the single chapter on the 5th 'cos I've managed to get back on track for finishing on the 10th again now.  Aiming to write 5k a day then give myself the rest of the evening off to get out of my characters heads and relax before I head to bed.

 

Managed to write 5k today so I've just got another 15k to write now, hopefully within 3 days, which is the 10th assuming nothing else majorly goes wrong for me of course.  Being able to totally immerse myself in a completely fictional world for like 10-12 hours a day has definitely helped me to cope with my loss so far.  I'm gonna totally go to pieces as soon as I place that final full stop in this MS though, and I'm going to dedicate it to the new angel when it's been accepted for publication... it's the very least I can do.


Thursday 5 November 2020

I'm now, officially...

...half way through the NaNo challenge, 10 days early 🤣.  I've just finished writing the chapter that contained my 25,000th word after only 5 day.  I'm hoping to hit 30k by the end of the day, but I'm back into the NaNo routine now, so hopefully it'll all be plain sailing from now until I've finished the manuscript. 


Sorry I didn't update this blog yesterday, but we got some awful news about our dog and had to make a very hard decision.  She's still alive, but I can't immerse myself into NaNo as intensely as I did the previous two days.  I'm still aiming to finish it by the 10th, but if I don't then that's OK too.

Tuesday 3 November 2020

Managed a huuuuge...

...7 chapters today, so I'm hoping/planning to be half way through it by the time I stop writing tomorrow, which ain't bad going for only 4 days and if I manage to write my last word on the 8th, I'm pretty sure that's my quickest ever finishing too, which is even better!


Monday 2 November 2020

Another 6k words written, another J2O down my neck.

 T'was another slow start (a chapter every two hours) but managed to knock out 3 chapters in just over 4 hours this evening, so I'm definitely more productive in late afternoons through to evenings!


Sunday 1 November 2020

My first day of NaNo completed

My aim for this year is to write 5k words a day and my reward is a J2O.

 

After a veeeery slow start this morning, I've managed to write 6k words today which is a great start for me.  Assuming I achieve at least that every day, I'll write my final word 2 days sooner than I was thinking, which'll be a new record for me.

 

I hope you've managed to achieve success today too?!